"I swear to god I am going to ki-" Alex started when she saw Supergirl flying into the house with her daughter.
"Alex." Supergirl said firmly, cutting her sister's rant off, just as she set the teenager down.
"What?" Alex asked, but then she saw the state her daughter was in and she immediately rushed over and hugged her.
"What happened? Are you hurt?" Alex asked as, as her daughter clung to her.
"You are freezing, you need to go get warmed up. Go have a shower and get dry clothes on. Then come back down." Alex instructed, trying to stay calm.
"What happened?" She asked her sister once she heard the shower turn on upstairs.
"I don't know. She activated the alarm. When I got there she was sitting under a tree. There was no one else there. I couldn't see any injuries and she said she wasn't hurt. But she was really upset."
"Can you take MJ tonight?" Alex asked.
"Of course. Do you need anything else?" Her sister asked.
"Just the truth. Hopefully Kara will give it." Alex said before sighing and adding. "But I didn't when I was her age."
-00-
As the teenager sat on the couch Alex wrapped her in a blanket before giving her a hot chocolate. "Drink that it will warm you up." Alex said.
As the teenager clung to the hot mug she looked at her mother and said. "I'm sorry."
"We'll get to that." Alex said. "But first I need to know if anyone hurt you?" In response her daughter shook her head.
"You sure?" Alex asked.
"No one attacked me." Kara assured her.
"Good." Alex said relaxing slightly. "So what happened?"
"I was stupid. I made a mistake. I shouldn't have gone."
"All true, but doesn't answer the question. Where did you go?" Alex pressed.
"There was party."
"Where?"
"Jack Flynn's place."
"Who is Jack Flynn?" Alex asked not recognising the name.
"One of the football team. He's a senior."
At that point Alex bit down all her criticisms of Kara's decision to go to the party and waited for her daughter to continue.
"His parents are away." Kara went on. As Alex heard that she jumped in.
"Was there alcohol?"
"Yes. But I didn't have any." Feeling her mother's eyes on her she looked up from the cup of hot chocolate that she had been staring at and said. "I swear I didn't." But after a few more silent moments of staring from Alex she added. "Plenty of others were drinking. But I didn't."
"I believe you." Alex said moving a stray clump of hair off her daughter's face. "But why would you go to that type of party?"
"The reason I went to the stupid party was because Chris asked."
"Who's Chris?" Alex asked, suddenly feeling like she was completely disconnected from her daughter's life.
"A boy from school. I thought he liked me. He didn't. It was just a game." Kara explained, the sentence causing Alex to feel alarmed, but she remained silent, wanting her daughter go at her own pace. But when the teen didn't say anything more Alex prodded.
"What happened?"
"Like I said it was just a game to him. A stupid bet. When I found out I left. Except I didn't have my phone or money and I didn't know that neighbourhood. Then I got lost and called aunt Kara."
"Teenagers can be cruel." Alex said, convinced there was more to the story, but knowing her daughter well enough not to push too hard.
"I know, but I really liked him." Kara sobbed as Alex pulled her into her arms.
-00-
"How's Kara?" The adult Kara asked the next morning when her sister entered her apartment.
"Heart broken."
"What happened?" Kara asked.
"I am pretty sure I haven't got the full story yet, but something to do with a boy she really liked asking her out for a bet." Alex explained. "Thank you for getting her."
"Of course." Kara smiled.
"Where's MJ?" Alex asked noticing how quiet the apartment was.
"He and Alex have already gone to school. He said Kara wasn't going so they went without her. They were meant to stop by your place to say goodbye."
"They didn't." Alex said.
"He maybe avoiding you. He was pretty certain that he was going to get grounded." Kara said.
"At least he is perceptive." Alex said before Kara asked.
"How are you doing?"
"I have got so used to dealing with threats from Mongul and Kai, I became completely blind to the normal teenage problems. How much else have I missed?"
"When we were teens we definitely didn't share everything with Eliza." Kara reminded her.
"I know, but I still felt like she knew." Alex said. "I had no idea that Kara was even interested in dating. I knew something was off the other night, but I put it down to me being stressed and ignored it."
"The important thing is Kara is okay." The adult Kara reminded her.
"I'm not sure she is." Alex said sounding unconvinced. "I have to go to work, the President wants a full briefing on the goat fiasco. I don't know how long I will be tied up for, but it will probably be all day, so can you check in on Kara?"
"Of course." Her sister assured her.
-00-
"Hey." Kara said popping her head round her niece's door in the early afternoon.
"Did mom send you to babysit?" The teenager asked from the bed, without looking round.
"No. But she is worried about you. She also said you skipped breakfast and you know how important I think food is so I brought a small selection." The adult Kara said before the teenager felt something drop on her bed. Looking round she saw various wrapped food options scattered on the duvet.
"I'm not hungry." The teen said rolling back onto her side so her back was facing her aunt.
"Well eat when you're ready." The adult Kara said before asking. "Want to talk?"
"No."
"Then I'll talk. I remember when I had my heartbroken." The adult Kara started oblivious to her niece's eyeroll. "I shut myself off from everyone, including your mom. I even turned down a food tasting session. I convinced myself the world would be better without me and slowly but surely Supergirl took over. Eventually I pulled myself out of the funk. Actually your mom kind of dragged me out out of it. Then a few weeks later your mom had her heart broken and I really wanted to help, but she reminded me after hiding myself away for weeks I had no right to criticise her."
"So you got over it?" The teenager guessed not particularly interested in the story.
"You want the truth?"
"Sure."
"A fews weeks later we found a spacecraft under water and in it was Mon-El. Only in, what had been months for me, had been years for him. In that time he had been sucked through a portal, sent to the future and got married."
"You suck at pep talks." The teenager said rolling over.
"Yeah, in my head this went differently." The adult Kara conceded. "You should talk to your mom."
"Why?"
"She can relate a lot more than you think. But that story is hers to tell not mine." Kara said, just as her phone rang.
"Kara Danvers …. yes why? … What? I''ll be right there."
"What's wrong?" The teenager asked.
"That was the school. Alex has been in a fight."
"What has mom done?" The teenager asked, making an assumption on who Kara was talking about.
"It's not your mom." The adult Kara said. "I've got to go."
-00-
"What happened?" Kara asked when she reached the Principal's office.
"Miss Danvers. Please come in." He said opening the door. As she entered the office she saw her daughter sitting on the couch holding an ice pack to her face.
"Alex? What happened?" She asked panicking that Alex had lost her powers again. "Why are you using an ice pack?" Kara asked her daughter as she hugged her.
"I was punched, they thought it would be a good idea." The teenager said. "I don't need it. I'm fine."
"Punched?" Kara asked before turning to look at the Principal. "What happened?"
"We are still trying to establish that. But there seems to have been a fight between the football team and basketball team."
"Alex is on neither." Kara pointed out.
"Yes. She tried to rescue her cousin -"
"Is MJ hurt?" Kara asked.
"Some bruises-"
"Where is he?"
"In one of the classrooms with the rest of team basketball."
"I wasn't allowed to wait with them." Alex said.
"We believe Alex is an innocent party." The Principal said. "And in light of other events involving her recently -"
"You mean her nearly drowning?" Kara cut in.
"Yes. In light of that we wanted to make sure she was okay. So kept her here."
"Surely you want every child to be okay." Kara argued.
"Well, yes of course, but I was concerned by Alex. I mean she was punched."
"So was MJ." The teenage Alex said.
"I'm going to take them both home." Kara said.
"Well, that isn't possible. I need to speak to MJ's mother before he can be released." The Principal said.
"Alex is talking to the President of the United States right now. Do you really want that meeting to be interrupted?"
"Um, no."
"Well then, I'll take MJ."
"Right. Ok, I will take you down there." He said, in part grateful he would not have to deal with the adult Alex.
As they reached the classroom he said. "I'll just -" But before he could finish Kara walked in and headed straight to her nephew.
"MJ? Are you okay?" Kara asked.
"I'm fine." He said surprised to see his aunt.
"Get your things, I'm taking you home."
"Um okay." He said as Kara caught sight of Martin.
"Martin? What are you doing here?"
"He was also involved." The Principal said. "We can't reach his guardian."
"I'll take him." Kara said.
"I can't let you do that-"
"So far this school as overseen my daughter drowning and being assaulted, but this is where you take a stand?"
"Well, it's up to Martin." The Principal said wondering if Alex might have been the easier parent to deal with.
-00-
"Start talking." Kara commanded as she, the teenage Alex, Martin and MJ reached her apartment.
"Martin had nothing to do with this." Alex said.
"I kinda did." Martin said.
"It was my fault." MJ jumped in. "I may have started it."
"But it was that jerk who threw the first punch." Alex said.
"One at a time." Kara said. "Actually wait. Matin, leave a message for your uncle and let him know you are here and safe." Kara instructed. "You can call from in there if you want some privacy." She said pointing to her bedroom. As he disappeared she looked at the two remaining teenagers.
"Fighting?" She then looked at her daughter and added. "You know you can't do that."
"I didn't. I was just a kind of shield for MJ. I'm fine."
"And Martin?" Kara asked.
"He tried to help me." Alex said as the teenager in question re-emerged.
"I left a message for him." He said before his stomach growled. "Sorry. Kinda missed lunch." He said avoiding eye contact.
"We all did." The teenage Alex said.
"Okay, make some lunch." Kara instructed her daughter. "I'm going to try to get hold of Alex."
"Do you have to?" MJ asked. "She was already going to ground me before this."
"You should have thought about that before you started a fight." Kara said.